Netherlands again tops global English Proficiency Index

The Netherlands again ranked first in the EF English Proficiency Index - the index that ranks English-language skills in countries where English is not the native language. The Netherlands has been in the top three of this ranking since its first edition in 2011 and has held first place every year since 2019.

The EF tested the English language skills of 113 countries based on the standardized test results of 2.2 million non-native English speakers. The Netherlands got an EF EPI score of 647, compared to a global average of 502. That puts the Netherlands at the top of the ranking with “very high proficiency,” though the score is a bit lower than in the past three years.

Netherlands residents in all provinces, all major cities, and all age groups achieved “very high proficiency” scores above 600. Limburg has the highest proficiency score at 674, and Zeeland has the lowest at 621. Among the larger cities, Breda scored best at 671 and Hilversum lowest at 616.

According to EF, the global index appeared relatively stable this year, but that is an illusion. “The truth is that gains in certain countries and regions are being offset by losses in others," said EF EPI author Kate Bell. English proficiency is declining in East Asia and steadily improving in Latin America, for example.

The EF EPI noted a worrying decline in English proficiency among young people aged 18 to 20, with test scores dropping 89 points since 2015. The gender gap is also widening. Men’s English is improving (+14 points), and women’s is declining (-19 points since 2014). “The gender gap is not uniform, however, with 63 countries at or near gender parity,” EF said.

These trends are also visible in the Netherlands on a smaller scale. Young people’s English proficiency scored 622 points this year, compared to 625 last year and 648 in 2021. And women scored 638 this year, compared to men’s 666. Men's and women’s English skills were more-or-less equal in the Netherlands until 2021. After that, men’s proficiency rose while women’s declined.